Noolie Knits

Friday with Clover

Clover gave us a little musical performance the other night.

I hope you enjoyed today's show.
Have a great day!

Final Four

I've finished four more hats which completes my goal for the 300 Hats Project. 

Details of the Final Four  (click pics for bigger):

Hat #10  

Noodle Cozyby Laura Wilson-Martos

Yarn: Ironstone Yarns Harmony

Needles:  Size 9

Mods: I wanted to make a child’s size hat, so I started with 84 stitches and then I had to adjust the decreasing a little.

 

Hat #11

Pattern:  Ball Band Toddler Hatby Tina Edgar

Yarn: Crystal Palace Yarns Taos

Needles: size 6

 

Hat #12

Pattern:  Dulaan Avalanche Hatby Peggy McCune

Yarn:  Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky

 

Needles:  Size 13 and 11

 

 

 

Hat #13

 

 

Pattern:  Just your basic roll brim hat knit in the round

Yarn:  Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky

Needles:  Size 9

 

    It'll feel good to put these in a box on Monday and ship them off to Colleen.
   
     I think I'm done with hats for a little while :-)

Crazy Hat Lady

I've been known for a long time as the "Crazy Cat Lady"; I'm thinking that may change soon to the "Crazy Hat Lady". 

Presenting hats #8 and #9 for the 300 Hat Project(also #3 & #4 towards my summer goal of 8 additional hats):

Pattern:  Amanda Hat
Yarn:  "Handspun by Laurie" (a local spinner)  100% Romney Wool Needles:  Size 8 Luckily, a nice long soak in Eucalen softened this up nicely!
 
Pattern:  Ball Band Toddler Hat
Yarn:  Paton's Classic Merino, color- Regency
Needles:  Size 6
This hat was started yesterday afternoon and completed last night.  Now that's a quick knit!  (note: if you make this hat, cast on 76 instead of 78 per the errata)

You might think that I'd be getting a bit sick of knitting hats at this point, but I'm not.  I'm really enjoying it.  I think it's because I'm not making the same pattern more than twice and most of the hats have some sort of patterning so that even though its all fairly mindless knitting, it's not boring knitting.  Plus it's for a good cause.   Next hat up:  Noodle Cozy

It hasn't been ALL hats ALL the time here at Noolieville though; there's actually been a little progress made on the Lisha Lace Scarf(another 20 row repeat) and there's been spinning.  Joining the 10 Minutes a Daygroup was the best thing I've done for my spinning. 

Tune in tomorrow for pics of finished yarn and what I'm spinning now.

How About an Update?

 

Edited to add:  It's Kristie's  birthday today; go on over and wish her a Happy one!

Since its been about a week since I've updated you on anything of the fibery nature, how about I do that today?  Here's what I've managed to accomplish in the knitting and spinning department lately.

300 HATS PROJECT:

~~Apparently, I can't count.  Last week I told you I had finished Hat #8 and was going to begin an Amanda Hat for Hat #9.   Make that Hats #7 and #8. 

~~Speaking of Hat #8 (the real #8), I did not finish it Tuesday night at Chicks with Sticks as has been my MO of late.  I'm about 60% finished.  I think it has a bit to do with the fact that the yarn is not so fun to knit with; I'm really hoping that a good soaking will soften it up a bit. 

~~Here's where it stands right now:

~~Hopefully, I'll finish it tonight.

'LISHA' LACE SCARF

~~Not a heck of a lot of progress here either.  I have completed just shy of 2 repeats.

I'm loving knitting this.  The yarnis scrumptious and the pattern is wonderful.  I should be much further along than I am, but I just can't seem to get in much knitting time these days.

~~I guess it could have something to do with the fact that I'm lazy and no longer get up and knit for 1 1/2 hours before work in the morning.  Even when I am up early, I'm not knitting; I'm drinking coffee and vegging in front of the computer or t.v.

10 MINUTES A DAY

~~I've done pretty well with this; there was only one day last week when I didn't actually spin, but I did read about spinning, trying to learn a little, so I'm counting that.

~~Most of my spinning this past week has been  with the cotton candy fiber.  I finished the last two of four bobbins of singles and decided this would not become a sweater for Clover.  The third bobbin was really not very good and the fourth bobbin was a bit thick.  So, I decided to wing it and see what would happen if I plied the two good bobbins with the two not so good ones. 

~~Not too bad.  I still have a bit to do, but I think this yarn will make some pretty little girl hats for Clover and her two cousins. 

~~I think I need a bit more practice before I spin sweater yarn for  Clover; it has to be perfect for my perfect granddaughter ;-)

~~Notice the jumbo flyer?  I just got that the other day.  I never even thought about the fact that it'd come unfinished.  I don't care about the bobbins and the flyer, but I'd kind of like the maiden to match since it replaces the other one.  Guess I'll be looking for something to finish it with soon.

GOOD NEWS:  

~~Chris was offered, and accepted, a job!  He'll probably be starting a week from Monday; just have to wait for a credit and security check.  Can we get a Woo and also a Hoo!!
 

 

WNBP (Wednesday Night Bullet Post)

• Another week, another hat. This time it's the Banana Republic Hat Knockoff.
  

• Mine is done in Lamb's Pide Bulky in the Pistachio colorway.
  Needles: Size 8 for the seed stitch band; Size 10 1/2 for the rest of the hat.

• It's an easy and enjoyable hat to make. I'm one of those people who likes doing seed stitch, so the band was my favorite part.

• This is my 8th hat for the 300 Hat Project and my 2nd hat towards my "8 more hats this summer" goal.

• This morning, I cast on for hat #9 The Amanda Hat  in the handspun yarn given to me last week by a friend and coworker.

• It will now be set aside until next Tuesday night because when I finish this post, I'm going to begin this , Lisha Lace Scarf.  I'll be using the gorgeous cashmere yarn which was a birthday gift from Gina. I'm pretty excited to get going on this.

• You may have noticed that both these patterns were designed by Gina; she's one very talented woman!

• At some point tonight, I'll also get in at least 10 minutes of spinning. This may end up being the only night that 10 minutes really is only 10 minutes. After all, there are just so many minutes in a day, you know.

• I finished a third bobbin of the cotton candy the other night, but it was kind of a nightmare. I was spinning away, happy as could be, when suddenly I realized I was WAAAAAYYYY over spinning it. It was terrible! I remembered Amy telling me that when you do that you can run it through in the opposite direction being careful not to take out too much of the twist.

• Can you guess what happened? Yep, took out too much of the twist. Sent it back through again and think I finally got the twist pretty much okay.

• It was like I hadn't ever spun this fiber (or any other fiber for that matter) before in my life - never mind the fact that I'd been spinning this fiber for the last week and 1/2. Oh well; whatcha gonna do, huh? I have one bobbin left to spin and then a decision to make about plying.

• ~Kristie brings up a good point about using the singles; she mentions I might want to avoid that if they aren't nice and balanced. HA! I guess we know how this is going to turn out, don't we?

• Since tonight is Wednesday (as noted by the WNBP), that must mean last night was Tuesday and Chicks with Sticks. It was a smallish group, but a lively one.

• The Sheep came down for her weekly S.O.C.K.S. Program (2nd paragraph). I like to give her grief for having summers off, but really I'm glad she does. Otherwise there would be no S.O.C.K.S. Program and no Tuesday night Sheepie visits. That would just be sad.

• What was sad, was that Patti couldn't be there again last night. She was in San Antonio at a conference. She's expected home tonight though and that's a good thing. I miss my friend     :-(

• Speaking of Patti, last word I heard was that her Dad had taken a bit of a turn for the better. This is good news, but he still needs lots of your good thoughts and prayers sent his way, if you can spare them. He has a long road ahead of him.
  
  

WNBP Short Version

I don't have much for this week's Wednesday Night Bullet Post, so I've added a little something silly for you at the end of this post.

• Last night was Chicks with Sticksand I'm sure you know what that means (at least what that means this summer). Yep, another hat for the 300 Hat Project. This one is crocheted:

Pattern: Skater Beanie(Ravelry link) Yarn: Cascade 220 (maroon) & Lamb's Pride (yellow) Hook: Size H

• This is the reason I didn't find ten minutes to spin on Monday. I had planned to just get it started so that I could bring it on Tuesday to CWS, but I got a bit carried away and worked on it instead of spinning. It's not that I spent a lot of time on it; but by the time I sat down to do anything, it was already pretty late.

• I made up for the spinning I missed on Monday before going to CWS last night, though. I sat down with the intention of doing about 15 minutes and next thing I knew, I had been spinning for half an hour and all of my pre-drafted fiber was gone and I had finished the first bobbin of Cotton Candy. No picture of the full bobbin; you'll just have to take my word for it :-)

• I did start another hat when this one was complete. I managed an entire 2 rows of the rim. This is going to be the Banana Republic Knock-off hat, using Lamb's Pride bulky in Pistachio. I'll probably finish the rim and then set it aside until next Tuesday night.

• Clover went for her 6 month check up today (even though she'll be 7 months next Thursday). We were guessing that she weighed 18 pounds and we were pretty darn close. 17 pounds, 14 ounces and 27 inches long! I've been thinking she looked like she was growing a lot in length recently; guess I was right. She's a big girl. 75th percentile in weight and a little higher in length. She had her vaccinations and all is well with her. She's a happy, healthy girl.

• And now for the chuckle I promised you:

   

Catching up (a little)

Before I begin this post, I have to ask all of you to send good, healing thoughts to Patti's father, who was in a car accident the other day.  Patti has been in Kansas City since Saturday to be with him and they could both use some good thoughts.  Thanks!

 

Seems there hasn't been much in the way of fiber content on this little blog in quite a while, has there? Unless, of course, you count me telling you about my summer goals and what patterns I plan to knit. I don't believe I've shown you any actual knitting in almost 2 weeks when I showed you the Avalanche hat. We won't even discuss how long it's been since I showed you any spinning. I'll remedy that in this post, but first I have a long overdue "Thank You" to give. 

Over a week ago, I received yet another birthday package in the mail; this one from the wonderfully generous Colleen.

 

Look at all this great stuff! That little box of crochet patterns is packed full of tons of patterns, any of which I would love to make.  If Samm has her way, I'll be making them ALL.  I'll probably make most of the clothing items; there are a few blankets, but I'm thinking I'll skip those.  Check out that little Monkey Suits dress pattern; that is definitely on the top of the list (click here for a better view). There are even a couple great patterns for me in this wonderful package!  I've been looking at  those ballerina slippers for a while now (how'd you know, Colleen?), and that circular crocheted shawl - that looks stunning.  You really must click this link to better see the detail! Thank you so very much, Colleen!  I'm telling you; this is the birthday that just keeps on giving!  I could easily get used to birthdays that last the entire year ;-)

As if that's not enough goodies, a friend and coworker dropped this on my desk on Friday: It's handspun by a woman here in town and my coworker won it in a raffle or something.  She figured she wasn't going to use it and thought I might like it.  She thought right; it's a great shade of red (I can't quite capture the color, it's not as dark as it looks in this photo; it's a bit more muted.)  It's about 108 yards of 100% Romney wool.  I'm thinking it might make a nice hat for the 300 Hat project.  Thank you, Robyn!

Speaking of the 300 Hat project; the only knitting I've done (and not frogged) this past week is another hat (#5) for the project. This one is knit using some Lopi from my stash on size 9 needles.  

I knit about 6 rounds of k3,P1 rib (which you can't even see) and then it's plain ole stockinette from there. I started it Tuesday night (of course - Chicks With Sticks knitting) and finished it Wednesday afternoon.   This hat does not count as one of the 8 additional that I have set as a goal for Summer knitting since it was begun and finished before the official start of Summer.

My first hat towards that goal will be started tomorrow for CWS knitting (well, actually crocheting).  I'm planning to do the Skater Beanie (Ravelry link).

We shall not speak of Twinings for a while; she has been frogged back to the beginning of the fourth repeat and is in time out again!  I'm beginning to wonder if I should have put her on my Summer goals list.  Oh well, summer does last three months, right?  Perhaps she'll have learned her lesson and be better behaved in time to be completed by the end of the summer.

I think I'm going to end here and save the spinning update for the next post.  I will say that this 10 Minutes a Day thing was the best thing I've done in a while!

Enjoy the rest of your day!

WNBP

It's Wednesday and that means it's time for some randomness in the form of a Wednesday Night Bullet Post!

• Yesterday, I received yet another Birthday present in the mail.  This one was from Dana and Dianne.

(photo shamelessly swiped from Dana)
It's a gorgeous pendant made by Sonya Forte'.
Thank you so much, Dana and Dianne; you know how much I LOVE it!

• Yesterday was Tuesday, which means last night was Chicks with Sticks at my favorite LYS.  I look forward to CWS all week.  It's always a good time with good friends.

• Not only is CWS fun, but sometimes a person might even learn something new.

• I learned something new last night. I'm probably the last knitter on earth to learn this.  Did you know that if you are using interchangeable needles (like my new Harmony needles) that are assembled with the little metal thingy (yes, that is the technical term) that you stick through the hole to tighten the cable to the needle,  you can thread a lifeline through that hole and knit it right into your row?  No stopping to thread a needle and having to be extra careful to make sure you go through every stitch and yarn over.

• I was close to the end of a repeat on Twinings, so I finished up the couple of rows I needed to this morning and tried out that new little bit of knowledge.  It was a little difficult getting the lifeline through the tiny hole, but I just used the little metal thingy to shove it through and guess what - it worked!  YAY! 
  

• Speaking of Twinings, I am now back to where I was before having to rip it out; three measley repeats complete.  I just don't know where my time is going, but I don't feel like I'm getting in the knitting time I want (and need).

• Yesterday, I knit another hat for the 300 Hats Project.  Everyone knows that I am not capable of knitting lace at CWS, so that has become my night to knit hats.  I arrived last night with the stitches cast on and the first row knit and finished this in the few hours that I was there:

Avalanche Hat

• That was Yesterday. 

• Today - well, let's just say that some days it'd just be better to stay at home with the people you love - know what I mean?
  

• I really need to just win PowerBall and be done with it.

 

 

WNBP

It’s Wednesday, and even though I don’t always take advantage of the WNBP format (like when I’m too lazy to post anything at all), it’s nice to have it to fall back on.   Here goes:

• I'm glowing.  No, I'm not pregnant; bite your tongue!  I had to take a radioactive iodine pill today for another thyroid test.
• It was a little bit disconcerting when the technician administering the pill got a bit jumpy when it looked like her hand might actually touch the pill (which was encased in a thick plastic tube and dumped out into the palm of my hand).
• She tells me that I don't have to keep my distance from anyone, but that if I hold a baby on my lap, make sure my bladder is empty.
• Hmmm, I don't think I'll be holding Clover tonight.
• That’s not going to be easy; she is, after all, such a huggable baby!

 

• I'm amazed at the response to my contest!  Lots of people accomplishing lots of good things.
• If you have a few spare minutes, read the stories.  Very inspiring.
• Lots of people I haven’t heard from before; welcome! 
  
• I love "meeting" new people and reading new blogs.
  
• If I haven't yet responded to you, don't worry; I plan to respond to everyone and you'll all be entered into the contest.
• I'm thinking I may go for another stash dive and add another prize or two.
  
• If you haven't commented yet, what are you waiting for? (Although, you do have until Monday to comment.)

•   Last night at Chicks with Sticks I nearly completed my first hat for the 300 Hat Project.  I kept stopping to measure it so I could begin the decreases.  

• You know how that goes, especially when you're knitting stockinette in the round; you just want something different to break up the monotony.
• Well, I don’t know how I did it, but I ended up knitting an inch too much.  
• I could decrease every round now, but wouldn’t that make the hat pointy?  I don't think the orphans have pointy heads, so I'll rip back.
• Or maybe I'll just fold the ribbing up.  Hmmm, decisions, decisions.
• I'm hoping to knit a hat a week for the project, but I think I'll mix it up a bit and do some different patterns.  Something to keep it a little more interesting.

• Something interesting came in the mail today.
• Interesting and purty. 
• It was my Harmony interchangeable needle set!  Yippee!
• I’m really excited to try these out.
• As a matter of fact, I think I’ll close here so I can try them out on my Twinings stole.

 

Have a great night, everyone!

FO, WIP's, & 300 Hats

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted about anything I'm working on, hasn't it?  There really has been a bit of knitting going on around here, even some crocheting.  Spinning, on the other hand, has not been happening lately.  I'm going to have to fix that.  But for now, let's take a look at what's been on the needles (and hook) and what's come off.

Samm said that Clover needed some more bibs, so I made this one for her.

"Baby Bib o' Love" by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne
Yarn:  Lily Sugar'n Cream, colorway:  Playtime
Size 8 needles.
Mods:  I  put a snap on it instead of a button, and I'm really not very pleased with it.  I think I'll replace it with some velcro.

I have a lot more cotton yarn, so I'll be making a couple more soon.  Because working with this cotton is so hard on my hands, it takes me a few days to make one and then it takes a while before I feel like doing it again.


Have you noticed the lack of socks around here this year?  Yeah, me too.  What's up with that?  I do have two socks on the needles; not a pair, 2 single socks. 
    


Samm's Sweet Clover socks (which are actually almost ready to begin the toe) and my Sockotta socks.
 Both plain ole stockinette, top down socks. 

Nothing difficult, so why can't I seem to finish even one?  No big deal, though.  Remember, I decided to stop putting pressure on myself with the knitting.  Knitting is my enjoyment and relaxation and I'm not letting it get stressful.  No matter how much I want to finish some socks.

I've started another lace project. This is The Twinings Stole by Anne Hanson

I'm using some Fino that I won quite a long while ago from Kelli. This is the first project I've actually knit with laceweight.  I've only completed 2 repeats of the 16 row lace pattern, (actually, I almost completed 3 repeats but had to frog back a bit) but I think it's coming along nicely.  My plan is to complete this shawl before tackling the Flight of the Honey Bees. 

Samm bought a new camera and naturally it's just enough longer than the old one that it doesn't fit in the case I made recently for her.  That's okay though, because I like that one better than the one I made for myself so I'm using it. I crocheted Samm a new one today.  Here it is before felting (sitting next to the one that I'm now using).

I used Lion Brand Wool in "Flower Garden" and a size K crochet hook. I just crocheted until I thought it was big enough and then felted it. It is drying right now; I'll have a completed picture in a couple days.

Okay, I've shown you an FO, a prefelted FO, and some WIP's.  You may be wondering what the 300 Hats in the title is all about.  You know I have NOT knit 300 hats in the last couple of weeks.  As a matter of fact, I haven't finished even one hat in quite a long time.  I did, however, begin a hat today for Colleen and the 300 Hat Project.  The quick details are that Colleen's friend, Kristy, will be traveling to the Ukraine in September and working with several orphanages.  She'd like to bring 300 hats with her and Colleen has offered to be her East Coast Connection.  She'll collect hats through the end of August.  Please click the link for more details.  Oh yeah, there will be prizes too!

Here's my first hat for the project: It's not much yet, but I've only just begun. I plan to knit hats all summer, in between other projects. Won't you join me? 

(Remember to come back tomorrow for my contest!)